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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-18          149403

I'm looking around for a new walk behind. I've had a small Snapper 17" single stage for about 20 years and it is tired.

For in-town I'd like a small 2 stage only that I can get through the end of the driveway where the City trucks dump salt ridden sloppy stuff.

I can get a Troy-built 24" 5.5 H.P. electric start on sale for $599.95 with 6 forward and 2 reverses using a Tecumseh. It weighs about 200 lbs. This seems identical to the larger Sears unit made also by MTD. They want $699.99.

I've also found an Ariens 20" 5 H.P. electric start with 6 forward and 2 reverses using a Briggs OHV. It weighs about 146 lbs. Its sale price is $649.99.

Sears has a 22" with 5H.P. and electric start but it has only one forward and one reverse. It is on sale for $549.99. It is made by MTD same as the Yard-man model


I do a couple of driveways and need to transport it. The single stage was easy to lift in the back of the truck.

My driveway isn't that large and the houses are close together. As I'm getting older the lighter weight would be nicer for me and my wife if she ever needs to do it.

The Ariens seems to have a very small paddle on the 2nd stage compared to the Troy-built.

I can also get the same thing as the Troy-bilt with the Huskie brand name for $599.99 from Tractor Supply.

I wanted to get something smaller and am trying to convince myself to go with Ariens. The Troy-built seems the best value for the money. My local dealership within walking distance would service it.

Any comments would be appreciated!


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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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cutter
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 1307 The South Shore of Lake Ontario, New York
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-18          149409

I looked at the Toro two-cycle a couple of years ago for one of my sons. It is almost as large physically as the four cycle but assume it would weigh in less. Seems to me the dealer was retailing them for around $700.

I ended up with an Ariens only because they were sold out of most of the Toro models. Still feel that would have been a great machine. The one feature I would surely want is a positive lock axle that unlocks.
....

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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-20          149465

Yooper why don't you use one of your trailer hitch carryalls to carry your snowblower? Add some fold down ramps and you're all set. I made one for my truck when I did plowing and it was handy--heavy but handy (I sort of overbuilt it and had to put wheels on the front of it to wheel it back to the shed). If you re-worked one of your carryalls you could make it tilt back like a snowmobile trailer and not need ramps. Then come spring you could carry a riding mower too.

But I'm jis' sayin' ....

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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-20          149467

Earthworks:
Yep, that exactly is what I'm doing. It is in the shop being built as I type this. My normal cargo carriers are only 20 deep x 60 or 72 long. My new one is 26" x 48".

I ended up with last years model 624 Ariens 24", electric start with Tecumseh 6 HP OHV with chute operating mechanism for $613.00 and same 3 year warranty. The new 20" 5020 that I was looking at had a Briggs OHV but without throttle control and no chute operating mechanism that was originally $699.99 for $650.99. The rest of the machines I looked at all had Tecumseh "L" head engines. This years replacement model 724 has a 7HP OHV Tecumseh and sells for $799.99

The operating handles are more like a lawn mower which I like and the balance is much better than the Troy-Bilt and other MTD models. The Ariens has a heavier drive mechanism and metal chute.

I'm a happy camper except the only problem is, no new snow to try it out! ....

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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-20          149468

Yooper---they say geniuses think alike :P

Have you seen the two-wheeled (2 large casters) on a hinging platform like the carryall but large enough to carry a full size zero-turn mower? I saw some on a lawncutter's truck. It looked like it used two reciever hitches at the pivot points to secure it to the truck.

Your web site shows a Saginaw, MI address. But your avatar says northern MI AND Yooper---do you mean you are a Yooper (UP'er) but live in lower northern MI (LP'er)?


I'm sooo confuthsed ;P ....

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Walk behind 2 stage snowblowers

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-12-20          149470

Earthworks:
I thought I needed some sort of clever name to avoid identity theft which is common if you give too much info on line. My business websites which I have an industrial and commercial business get about 800-1000 spams a day. We also field about a dozen or more telephone solicitors a day. The information highway allows them to get all sorts of information. Through D & B most can get more info about me than I want to give.

Yes, the business is in Saginaw and I live in a neighboring tourist town (bet you can figure that one out too). Saginaw has been known as an automotive industrial manufacturing town and for its rich farmland in rural areas. Now we are known for its crime rate and are famous for the number of drive by shootings. They only shot one last night if you check out the local news. I also own Northern Michigan property but none in the U.P. Some of my best friends have retired to Munising (in da U.P.) and I visit them often. To me, the world is much different as you cross the bridge, more like it should be.

By the way my name is not Pete either. Pete is a fictitious name that I come up with for solicitors that call my business looking for the person in charge of the phone, person in charge of the insurance program, purchasing agent, human resources director and so on. It has turned into quite a joke in the office.

Solicitors call in asking for Pete; this has blossomed since his name has been "sold" over and over again. Pete gets mail, free pens with company logo and his name printed on them and all sorts of stuff. People come to the front door saying they called last week and spoke with him and have an appointment.

Didn't mean to lie to anyone or confuse them. But from my pics on this site, etc. and information publicly available, someone could search for my property addresses and steal my tractors or a whole bunch of stuff I've accumlated over the years through hard work from my efforts and thanks to generations before me being able to pass some on. I'm not paranoid but cautious.

P.S. I've thought about building a product as you've described but my liability insurance carrier would drop me in a heartbeat. I'm having enough trouble with that right now as it is. They only want my premiums without risk of ever having a claim. Haven't had a claim but they are still nervous. ....

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